It’s hard not to love the look of New York City from an airplane. At a certain point, all the buildings and elements become the size of toys. Zooming out also reveals the urban layout of our cities, giving form to city fabric we usually experience at street level. Jeffrey Milstein, an architect turned photographer, has a stunning series of aerial photos on New York City (and Los Angeles) that are so geometrically framed and shot, it’s easy to see what he was trying to say. Through a range of sites, from Coney Island to Midtown (and even some islands), he shows that there’s a beauty to the man-made.

Columbus Circle, with a hint of Central Park. You can easily see where 59th Street was de-mapped, first in the construction of the New York Coliseum which doesn’t exist anymore. This gleaming image of Columbus Circle is also fairly recent. Those of us that grew up in New York City remember when it was rather run-down and completely forgotten part of town.

The cacophony of Coney Island‘s sounds and colors become a rather peaceful layout of circles and pinswheels when viewed from above. In this shot, you can see the Wonder Wheel and the new Luna Park.